Although no other online auction site comes even close to generating the amount of traffic that eBay does, there is an eBay alternative which overtook eBay in the traffic ratings in the run up to Christmas 2007. That site was Amazon.com.

Launched in 1995 as an online bookstore, they soon began to diversify and now offer a huge product range which includes CDs, DVDs, computer software, consumer electronics, clothing, tools, toys and games, baby products, household and kitchen items and much, much more.

In 2001 the Amazon Marketplace was launched and has since grown into a hugely popular channel for sellers to list their new and used items alongside Amazon products.

There is no auction format, all listings are fixed price. Listings stay up for 60 days, after which time the seller is given the option of re-listing any items which remain unsold.

Although there are no listing fees, Amazon charge low volume sellers a fixed per-item fee in addition to the final value fee. However, sellers who anticipate selling more than 30 items per month on the Amazon website can opt to become a Pro Merchant seller and pay a monthly fee in which case the per-item fee is waived.

Inevitably, since there is no listing fee, final value fees tend to be higher than those charged by eBay. However, there are no Paypal fees to pay and no waiting for buyers to send cheques or postal orders. Payment is collected by Amazon and paid into the seller’s account every two weeks. There is no such thing as a non-paying bidder on Amazon.

Sellers are not able to set their own post and packing charges, these are pre-set by Amazon. This can be something of a double-edged sword. If, for instance, you are selling a lightweight paperback book you are likely to make a small profit on the postage as well as on the book itself. However, if you are selling a heavy hardback book you would probably lose out on postage and this would need to be taken into consideration when you set your selling price.

If you have not yet tried selling on Amazon, why not give it a go? I was put off for a long time simply because I was reluctant to move out of my comfort zone and learn something new. However, I had a huge pile of books to sell and just couldn’t find the time to photograph and weigh them all, so listing them on Amazon seemed to be the perfect solution.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the process is. With photographs and descriptions already provided by Amazon, all I had to do was describe the condition of the book and set the price. I was delighted when several of the books sold within the first few days. There are no invoices to send and no slow payers to chase up. I just had to wait for an email from Amazon to say that a book had sold, print off the address label and dispatch note from the Amazon website and send the package. And remember, although listing a few books is an easy way to familiarise yourself with the process, you can now sell all kinds of things on Amazon.

I am in no way suggesting that you ditch eBay and move your business to Amazon but rather that you consider using it as another selling channel. After all, eBay and Amazon are the two most popular online shopping sites and between them your products could be seen by millions of potential buyers!

Posted in Getting Started, Moving Beyond eBay, Selling Ideas